


Routine

by ClarkeWayne



Category: Hunger Games Series - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Post-Canon, F/M, Fluff, Sexual Content
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-19
Updated: 2015-10-19
Packaged: 2018-04-27 04:44:03
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,022
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5034199
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ClarkeWayne/pseuds/ClarkeWayne
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Living together entails so much more than healing battle scars and getting over flashbacks caused by the hijacking. It involves important things such as making brownies, drinking with Haymitch, attending their garden and surviving visits from Johanna.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Routine

**Author's Note:**

> This is unbeta-ed, so you know... there is that...

“Okay, mix the butter and chocolate,” Peeta instructs and Katniss is already dreading the outcome of this little endeavor of theirs, “Keep stirring until it blends…”  
Katniss is eyeing the bowl with complete wariness. She had never once in her life done anything which required a water bath – or bain-marie as Peeta had called – and so far it can be easily pointed out as the most intricate cooking process that she had ever tried to do.  
“Good, now take the pan,” Peeta slides an arm around her, gently placing one of his hands on top of hers and helps her take the bowl off the pot, “Keep stirring until it cools off,”  
He resumes frosting the cake that he is currently working, seemingly unconcerned with her development, so she decides that she is doing okay and keeps stirring, tentatively touching the bowl every once in a while to check its temperature.  
“I think it’s cool now,” she says after touching it one more time, Peeta looks at the bowl and nods at the box with eggs.  
“Crack seven eggs and mix it until it blends,” he says nonchalantly.  
Katniss gapes a little, is not like she never cracked an egg before, is just so happens that she never needed seven of them in one recipe and she was pretty sure that it would not sit well with Peeta if she managed to get shells in her recipe.  
It takes almost ten minutes to crack all the eggs without getting any shells into the bowl, Peeta sneaks glances the whole time, but doesn’t interfere and Katniss refrains herself form smiling triumphantly .  
She keeps stirring and things are looking really good, “Now you pour the flour, the cocoa and the brown sugar,” she does as told, “Don’t stop stirring until everything is blended,”  
A few strokes later and her batch is smelling heavenly, “I think it’s good,”  
At that Peeta stops his work and approaches her, “It is, you just have to grease the cake pan and place some parchment paper on it,” he stays close by this time around and Katniss feels a little more confident now.  
It takes half an hour to bake the brownies, and once they’re done Katniss is bursting with pride, she was waiting the whole time for the batch to go bad but everything turned out fine. More than fine really, because once the brownies get cool Peeta powders them with cocoa and serves her a piece of it with vanilla ice cream.  
Katniss decides that she should come to the bakery more often.

* * *

 

“Look, you have to do like this,” Peeta tries to mimic Katniss footing and for the first time that evening he manages to take a step without snapping a twig or a branch. Progress.  
The smile he gives her when they both realize that is so sweet that Katniss can’t even roll her eyes at him. They hear some rustling not far from them and she eyes the path leading to it with intent.  
“Go, I’ll probably scare the game away, go,” he says good-naturedly and she seems torn before taking off. He is only slightly bothered by the fact that he can’t keep up with her sometimes, mainly because he likes to watch Katniss in her natural habitat if you could say so.  
Peeta resigns himself to some foraging, collecting mushrooms, herbs and some berries. He got quite proficient at it after reading Mr. Everdeen plant book, so he is fairly confident in his ability to gather herbs and berries now.  
It feels like hours before Katniss reappears looking flustered, which is unusual, “Care to help me?” she is dragging something with her and Peeta springs to help her.  
“Is that a deer?!” it is, and a big one at that, how she managed to drag that though the woods for who knows how far is beyond Peeta.  
Together they haul the deer back to the District, direct to the new market where everyone looks a tad impressed with the catch. Peeta has a strange want to point out that Katniss got it, but he is fairly sure that everyone knows that.  
Rooba greets them and stares at the deer, but he doesn’t say anything to them before cleaning up his counter and allowing Peeta to drop the deer on top of it. They refuse the money, but accept a few pieces of venison before heading back home.  
Later that evening when they are in bed Katniss says, “Maybe next time you could try to approach them,” her hand coming to rest over his heart.  
“Maybe… but I don’t think I could hunt them,” he wanted to say kill, but it sounds brutal to his ears, “Besides that is your thing,”  
“My thing hum?” she says with amusement oozing in her tone, “I think you could try to draw the animals, for once at least,”  
He wasn’t expecting that, or to get caught by her, “I draw them,” he argues with nothing to back him up on this one and Katniss raises her head to look skeptically at him, “I try… it’s just happens that you are always on my way,”  
She huffs and settles back on top of him, but he still manages to see her smile.  
If he manages to get more smiles like that out of her, he will make sure to go to the woods more often.

* * *

 

Haymitch is staring bleary at them, eyes going back and forth between his mentees, “Since when did the two of you became good at this?” he makes a wobbly motion to his now empty bottle of wine.  
Peeta blinks at him, “Two of us?” Katniss is all but passed out, resting her head in her arm and Peeta can only imagine the pain in the back that sleeping sit like that will entail later on.  
“Yeah! The two of you boy! When did you get so good at drinking?” oh, so he is seeing double. Great.  
Peeta opens his mouth and a burp comes out instead of words, “Sorry… I guess we should… head back,” he tries to get up, stumbling a bit before managing to get a hold of one counter steading himself. Haymitch barks a laugh and somehow falls backward with his chair.  
The loud sound startles Katniss, who slurs something unintelligible. Glazed eyes searching for something before stopping at Peeta, “Peeta…” it comes out raspy and she makes adorable grabby hands at him when he goes to help her to get up.  
He still not used to Katniss making public displays of affection, not that Haymitch counts as public, especially if you consider the way he is snoring soundly on the floor, but still, Peeta always gets a thrill when Katniss hugs him.  
Even if it’s like a big octopus.  
She is firmly wrapped around him, arms around his neck and legs locked around his hip and he makes a valiant effort to get them home, thank whatever deities that made him resilient to alcohol.  
He almost falls two times, one when they are in the middle of the Victor’s Village site and another when he’s going up stairs with a very clingy Katniss wrapped around him.  
He tries to deposit her on the bed when she says again, “Peeta…” but her voice is now muffled and her face shows distress and he knows what that means.  
Peeta spends the next two hours holding her hair while she vomits on the toilet and if that isn’t love he doesn’t know what is.  
The next morning they make a joint decision of not going to Haymitch’s for drinks for a while.

* * *

 

“Can I just say that this whole domestic thing is sickening sweet?” Johanna complains from the bathroom, “I mean… he has a toothbrush here!”  
She comes out of there along with a cloud of steam and wrapped in a towel that Katniss is one hundred percent sure that they use as washcloth even though she is sure that she had placed a regular size one near the sink, “What can I say, I like here and so does Peeta,”  
The lewd smile she gets makes her flush, “I’ll just bet he does,”  
“It’s not like that… I mean, not completely…” she trails off.  
Johanna’s eyes widen, “Tell me! Last time we talked the two of you haven’t…” she sits by Katniss side on the bed, her expression the very definition of eager.  
“Well, we did… and… stop looking at me like that,” they share a smile and a laugh before Peeta is yelling for them, “Lunch is ready and you really don’t want to let him wait, he gets cranky if food gets cold,”  
It’s the first time Johanna has visited District 12 since her own Victory Tour, and also the first time she has seen Katniss, Peeta and Haymitch since the Capitol. Apparently the life of a rich, lonely and attractive woman is boring at District 7, not enough people to torment Katniss assumes.  
When they get to the dining room Katniss can see that Peeta made an extra effort with the settling. Usually is just them, with occasional visits of Greasy Sae, Thom and Delly – Haymitch barges though their kitchen door from time to time, but is not a constant thing.  
They have quail with special herbs brought straight from District 7, a courtesy of their guest of honor, and a bottle of wine that Katniss knows that will lure Haymitch to their-  
“Sorry my tardiness,” their mentor announces from the kitchen entrance.  
Johanna raises a brow at him, “Didn’t think I would see you here,”  
“At dinner? Sorry to disappoint you,” his tone snarky.  
“Actually I didn’t think I would see you alive, but I guess these two are doing an okay job at keeping you around,” she says and promptly sits on the table, eyeing him with amusement. Sometimes Katniss forgets that Johanna and Haymitch know each other for almost a decade now.  
“A creaking door hangs longest, right?” Peeta looks a bit nervous at their animosity and Katniss just huffs.  
Dinner itself is a pleasant affair, especially after both Haymitch and Johanna get intoxicated, which means that the older man has a match in the sarcasm department and the amiable banter soon turns in a recollection of embarrassing moments from both Haymitch and Johanna in the Capitol and Peeta is laughing soundly at their stories, even Katniss has a hard time not crackling.  
After Peeta volunteers to get Haymitch home the women decide to lounge on the front porch to enjoy the night air.  
They’re sitting in one of the stone benches in front of the house gazing at the District night lights, the distant blurry luminous dots of the medicine factory and the market illuminating the landscape.  
“I stopped by 2 and 4 by the way,” Johanna says off handedly but Katniss can see that she is testing waters.  
“Really? How everyone is doing?”  
“Good… great actually, even your cousin, although I still think he is scared of me,” they laugh together at that, “Annie is doing okay, the baby did her wonders,”  
“Finnick would’ve been an amazing father,” Katniss says aloud, the thought coming out of her mouth without warning. Both women seem so freeze at that. It’s something that it will never go away, these tense and devastating moments that plague their lives.  
It’s impressive how much memories can haunt one’s mind for an eternity.  
“Yeah, he would, but I can’t imagine him changing diapers,” Johanna cracks a little and so does Katniss, “Or teaching that kid about the birds and bees,”  
“The baby is an Odair, he was born knowing about the birds and bees,” Katniss points out. This is new, her trying to lift spirits, she learned with Peeta, hard not to especially when you are living with the only one person who is probably more mentally damaged than you.  
“True enough,” Johanna concedes, “Your mother was no show by the way, so rude,”  
“She has a tendency to disappear,” it comes out a little bitter, but Katniss thinks that her resentment towards her mother is just another thing that it will never go away.  
Peeta stops by to wish them a goodnight, saying that he has to wake up earlier the next day, drops a kiss in Katniss forehead and leaves.  
Johanna stares at Peeta’s retreating form, “He is looking great,” it’s said with genuine happiness, “I didn’t think he would recover that much, not after…”  
“Me neither,” Katniss interrupts, she doesn’t like to dwell on that particular subject.  
“You too,” the younger girl raises an eyebrow, “Looks better, you’re kind of a wreck last time I saw you,” she takes a sip of her wine, “At least a bigger wreck than normal,” that gets a laugh and Katniss can’t remember the last time she laughed that much in one day, not even with Peeta.  
They spent the rest of the night talking and drinking and Katniss makes a promise to call Johanna more often.

* * *

 

They’re fumbling a bit, getting used to the rhythm, Peeta trying to imitate the movements of the people around here and Katniss falling back in the usual movements of the traditional jigs of District 12.  
It’s oddly comforting that the District is trying to maintain some traditions like its dancing and toasting.  
They’re celebrating the first toasting of the District since returning from the war and it has taken a surprisingly long time to happen. Which is fine, it was long just enough for Katniss and Peeta to feel comfortable with participating.  
The couple, a woman native from 12 and the man who hails from 13 are dancing almost glued to each other and Peeta seems to be wanting to do the same but hesitates throughout the night, mostly because Katniss is withdrawn most of the time with everyone.  
But Peeta is not part of everyone to her.  
So she decides to take pity on him and grabs his hand and puts his prosthetic to the test by dancing the night away with him. A few young girls are brave enough to ask Peeta to dance with them and Katniss allows with reluctance much to Peeta amusement.  
It’s pretty late when they decide to leave, bidding farewell to quite a handful of friends they have made during the rebuilding of District 12. They even spot Haymitch talking animatedly with a group of young people, probably telling some of his stories.  
Even after all this time it still feels like a novelty to Katniss when Peeta decides to kiss her. Which is what he decides to do as soon as they enter their house. His mouth makes a scorching path along her jaw and neck, her hands gripping his shirt as if it is a lifeline, his touches making her gasp and swear.  
They have become familiar with each other’s bodies at this point, no shame or hesitancy stopping them from enjoying sex fully.  
Gone are the hesitant kisses and timid touches. Katniss is bold with her hands and Peeta wicked with his mouth and tongue, and she should have known that he would be skilled with them considering everything.  
They barely make to the bed before he is slipping two fingers in her, making her knees weak. Teeth grazing on one of her nipples while her nails scratch his back coaxing a growl from him, soon she is moaning wantonly while he is grunting, eyes trained on her and who would’ve thought that that would be a tipping point for her?  
Because his eyes make her fall over, nearly screaming and she can feel him finishing inside her and Katniss mouths a silent thank you to whoever invented the contraceptive shots.  
Peeta falls beside her and their hands immediately search for each other’s, “Give me a few minute, and I will be ready again…” he pants and Katniss laughs at that.  
“I thought that the whole military training would have shaped you better,” she teases, a small glimpse of her flirtatious side that only Peeta sees.  
It doesn’t amuses him whoever, he narrows his eyes at her, “They did, I just wasn’t ready for a challenge like you, maybe I should train harder now,”  
“Yes, maybe you should, and then you could keep up with me,” she receives a glare and for a second there she thinks she crossed a line.  
She did.  
And Peeta decides to punish her with hard thrusts and a position that has her grasping the sheets and actually screaming his name this time.Katniss decides to tease Peeta more often after that.

* * *

 

They are tending the garden, or at least Peeta is, Katniss is scaring Haymitch’s geese, earning a scold from the older man.  
It’s something that none of them knew, that Peeta is good with plants. He seemed a tad surprised by that, but Katniss wasn’t, he is good with people, who are far more challenging creatures.  
He managed to grow not only primroses but daisies, calendulas and even some sunflowers along with some wildflowers that Katniss fetched from the wilds. It brought life to the house, an entire side of their home was covered with creeping fig and the verdant aspect of it pleased Katniss.  
“Are you going to help me here or will just lounge in the sun?” he says amused from where he is tending a bush of daisies, “Not that I’m complaining the view is spectacular from here,”  
His eyes trained on her legs, exposed due her shorts, the weather hot enough to demand light clothing. Katniss can’t really chastise Peeta, she was eyeing his broad shoulder quite shamelessly just a couple of minutes ago – no one said that he should wear tank tops and not expect her to not ogle at him.  
“I don’t know, maybe if I got some incentive…”  
His gaze becomes heated then, “The sooner I finish this the sooner I’ll finish you, how does that sound?”  
Katniss wants to say deal but instead she picks a watering so she can start helping.  
Peeta chuckles and they both decide that they shouldn’t do house chores together for foreseeable future.


End file.
